Joachim of Fiore and the Prophetic Future: A Study in Medieval Millennialism (Sutton History Paperbacks) Book

Joachim of Fiore was a twelfth-century Italian monk, described as the most singular and fascinating figure of medieval Christendom. This book explores his unique understanding of history, according to which a past 'age of the Father' and a present "age of the Son" would be followed by a third age, that of the Spirit. The powerful influence of his ideas is traced through the later medieval and renaissance periods down to the eighteenth century and beyond. The final transformation of the Italian seer at the hands of Yeats, Kandinsky and Jung into one of the great disruptive artists of history, an anarchist gripped by the archetype of the spirit that rendered him a force of subversion forms the fascinating epilogue. This seminal work of medieval religious, political and historical thought has opened the way to a completely new understanding of medieval millennialism, apocalyptic thought and prophecy. Long unavailable, this book will have a strong appeal not only to students of the middle ages, but also to all those interested in the evolution of millenarian ideas and prophecies of a "new age".Read More